ABSTRACT
I had the opportunity to address a group of site leaders for a very large construction management company. I was impressed with a safety acronym they had developed and displayed. It was L.I.F.E.® (Living Injury-Free Every
day).* Based on my passion for making work not only safer bur easier, I immediately created my own acronym-L.P.F.E. (Living Painkiller-Free Every day). The two acronyms are a great example that highlights the difference between compliance-based safety and the continuous improvement of safety. Living injury-free implies that if you follow the compliance rules and regulations, you will go home injury-free. This is a very worthwhile and meaningful compliance safety objective. Living painkiller-free implies that your work has been made easier so that you do not have to take painkillers every day, before or after work, to ease the muscle and joint pain. That is a continuous improvement safety objective.
